Describe your writing style.

Fast-paced plot and true-to-life characters dealing with astounding situations.

What [do you think] makes a good story?

Great characterization, structure, and pacing.

What are you currently reading?

Elin Hilderbrand’s THE FIVE-STAR WEEKEND.

What is your writing process? For instance, do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters first?

I’m a pantser all the way.  I’ve tried to outline and find I get bored with the story, which means I don’t continue with it.

Sometimes I will write the first chapter or two, then sketch an overview of the turning points and the ending, though all that is subject to change along the way.

What are [some] common traps for aspiring writers?

Editing the beginning over and over means never reaching “the end.”  Push through.  The number of people who start a book, then don’t finish a book is epic.  Anything can be fixed but a blank page.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Start self-publishing the instant you hear about it.

What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from other genders?

There is always the temptation to create men the way you want men to be. And, to an extent, this is what writing romance is about.  However, they need to be realistic too.  It’s a balancing act.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?

I used to be able to write a 90,000+ word book in 3-4 months.  Now it would take me 9-12 months.  It is what it is.

Do you believe in writer’s block?

I do, I do, I do believe in writer’s block. The only way I’ve found to cure it, and sometimes only for a little while, is to push through the book I’m working on, don’t look back. Eyes on the prize of “the end.” 

Then edit, edit, edit.

About Lori Handeland

Lori Handeland is a five-time nominee and two-time winner of the prestigious RITA™ Award from Romance Writers of America, as well as the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over sixty novels spanning the genres of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, contemporary romance, historical romance, historical fantasy and women’s fiction. Her novel Just Once received a coveted, starred review from Library Journal and was optioned as a feature film by Catalyst Global Media.

Lori set her sight on being an author at the age of ten. She remembers sitting at a typewriter before she knew how to type, pecking out a story about a family who went into space. As an only child her summers were spent with that typewriter, television, and, above all, books.  As a young adult, she got sidetracked by the need to make a living. She worked as a waitress and later enrolled in college to become a teacher.

Lori lives in Southern Wisconsin with her husband of over thirty-five years. In between writing and reading, she enjoys long walks with their rescue mutt, Arnold, and visits from her two grown sons, awesome daughter-in-law and perfectly adorable grandchildren.

Connect with Lori on her Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bookbub | Amazon | Goodreads

About the Book

Nothing Good Happens After Midnight. A Midnight Madness Nightcreature Novel Book 1

They say a mother will do anything for her child . . . I’m living proof

This nightmare began when I got the call every parent dreads. My daughter, Jenna, was missing from her college campus. Of course, my mind went to the worst place. After all, my late husband was a powerful senator. Was this some political payback?

I call in a favor and soon I’m partnered with an FBI sex trafficking agent. He tells me local girls have been disappearing for some time now, and he finally has a lead. But what we find at that abandoned warehouse is something out of a horror movie.

Werewolves! Two rival packs, their alphas fighting, winner take all––the pack and the trafficked girls. The werewolves must replenish their breeders, recently decimated by a virus that killed only the females.

But Jenna’s been keeping a secret, which only makes two of us. Though I should be angry, I know the lies I’ve told play a huge role in why we’re here. I’ll do anything to make it right. No way is my girl going to become a sacrificial mate for the greater good––even if she is the ‘chosen one.’ So, I do what any mother would do, I take her place, offering myself to Gideon, the winning alpha, as his mate.

Gideon’s goal is to live in harmony with the human world, but there are others who exist for the power, for the violence, and they don’t plan to let peace prevail.

There’s a civil werewolf war brewing and I am right in the middle of it.

From the voice of New York Times bestselling author Lori Handeland, a new volume in her Nightcreature world, complete with the humor, depth of characterization and fast-paced plot lines she is known for while showcasing the author’s incredible range.

Get your copy on Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords | Books2Read | Bookbub | Goodreads

Other books by Lori on this website, New Novel by Lori Handeland